Day pillar type
Yellow Monkey (Wu Shen): Personality and Matches
Hongsimdang Editorial Team · Last updated
Yellow Monkey (Wu Shen) is the day pillar where a big mountain that does not move (戊) rests on metal in autumn (申). In short, it sends inner strength outward and gives it a form others can receive.
What decides the Yellow Monkey: day stem and day branch
Your day pillar is the stem and branch of the day you were born: the upper character is the day stem and the lower one is the day branch. For Yellow Monkey (Wu Shen), the day stem is 戊 (Yang Earth) and the day branch is 申 (Monkey). The “Yellow” in the name is the color of the day stem’s element, and “Monkey” is the zodiac animal of the day branch. Both are Hongsimdang’s own labels.
The day stem 戊 is likened to a big mountain that does not move. When everyone else is scrambling, you stay where you are, and that steadiness reassures people. The day branch 申 is metal in autumn. The Monkey is popularly pictured as quick-witted, nimble and good at juggling several things, but that is the folk image of the zodiac. The actual reading comes from the element relationship and life stage that follow.
Read as elements, your stem and branch form an output pair, in which the stem pours into the branch. Your stem’s strength flows out toward the branch, so what you carry inside naturally wants to be expressed and given a form. The branch 申 also holds the hidden stems 戊, 壬, 庚, which lay another side beneath the one that shows.
Seen from your day stem 戊, the day branch 申 sits at the Illness (Bing) stage of the twelve life stages. It is the stage where energy takes a breath, and a deep empathy for other people’s pain grows.
How the Yellow Monkey shows up at work
Your strength goes out as expression, skill and teaching, so your standing tends to follow the volume and quality of what you produce. Producing nonstop also wears you out faster, so schedule recovery time from the start.
You read a situation fast, and your strength shows in scheduling, planning and improvement work that calls for improvising. Even when change is called for, you tend to hold your ground, and you can miss the moment to act.
When conditions stay unsettled, your attention scatters and you take up one thing after another until nothing gets finished.
Pick the one thing to keep up first, and treat the rest of your interests as time-limited trials.
How the Yellow Monkey shows up in relationships and love
You tend to be the one who gives, through words, gifts and attention. Before you start feeling that nothing comes back, say specifically what you want. The relationship will be steadier for it.
You always have something to talk about, so conversations rarely go flat, but your interest moves quickly and you can drift away before things deepen.
Someone who enjoys change with you, and waits without blame when your interest shifts, is the best fit.
How the Yellow Monkey handles money
What you make or express easily turns into income, so talent converts straight into earnings. Money also leaves quickly, so set aside a share the moment it comes in.
You are good at protecting what you have, better at avoiding losses than at chasing quick gains, and you are often a step behind when a new trend starts.
You spot openings and move money quickly, which suits side income and several streams of earnings, though spreading out too far makes things hard to track.
Day branches that harmonize with the Yellow Monkey and ones that clash
The day branch of Yellow Monkey (Wu Shen) is 申 (Monkey). Which day branch the other person has decides the relation between your two branches, as shown below. A day branch that is not listed has no direct harmony or clash with yours.
| Their day branch | Relation between branches | How it reads |
|---|---|---|
| Rat (子) | Triple Harmony partner | moves in the same direction, and the group is complete once a third branch joins |
| Dragon (辰) | Triple Harmony partner | moves in the same direction, and the group is complete once a third branch joins |
| Monkey (申) | Same day branch | like with like |
| Snake (巳) | Six Harmony, Punishment, Break | pulls together and fills in; rubs, so friction is likely; cracks are likely |
| Tiger (寅) | Clash, Punishment | head-on opposition; rubs, so friction is likely |
| Rabbit (卯) | Resentment / Ghost Gate | attracts yet irritates |
| Pig (亥) | Harm | small misunderstandings pile up |
Harmony, Clash, Punishment, Harm, Break and Resentment are relations fixed mechanically by the pair of branches. They say nothing about anyone’s character being better or worse.
2027 (Ding Wei year) and the Yellow Monkey
2027 is a Ding Wei year. The year’s stem and branch change over at the start of spring, around February 4, 2027. The Ding of 2027 supports and feeds your day stem, so tailwinds such as people willing to help, learning, credentials and contracts tend to start moving. The year branch Wei has no direct Six Harmony or Clash with your day branch, so the color of this year shows mainly in its relation to your day stem.
What the day pillar alone cannot tell you
The day pillar is one of the four pillars of a chart. The year, month and hour pillars, the ten-year luck cycles, and Zi Wei Dou Shu and Western astrology readings are not included on this page. Two people with the same Yellow Monkey can show it differently depending on their other pillars, and your day pillar alone does not settle personality or fate.
To see all four pillars, use the free BaZi calculator. To read a specific question through to timing, a personal reading is the next step.
See the whole chart with the free BaZi calculator →Personal readings →Day Pillar Types →
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out whether I am a Yellow Monkey?
The day of Yellow Monkey (Wu Shen) comes around once every 60 days, and people born on a 戊申 day belong to this type. Enter your birth date on the day pillar type index to check.
Why am I a Yellow Monkey if my birth-year animal is not the Monkey?
The birth-year animal comes from the year branch, while the Monkey in Yellow Monkey comes from the day branch 申. They are two separate calculations. Even if your birth year belongs to another animal, a day branch of 申 makes your day pillar a Monkey.
Which types match the Yellow Monkey?
Looking only at day branches, the Six Harmony partner of 申 is the Snake (巳), and the clash comes from the Tiger (寅). That is one narrow view. How well two people fit depends on all four pillars and on how they treat each other.
See other types
Same color
- Yellow Dragon (Wu Chen)
- Yellow Snake (Ji Si)
- Yellow Tiger (Wu Yin)
- Yellow Rabbit (Ji Mao)
- Yellow Rat (Wu Zi)
- Yellow Ox (Ji Chou)
- Yellow Dog (Wu Xu)
- Yellow Pig (Ji Hai)
- Yellow Rooster (Ji You)
- Yellow Horse (Wu Wu)
- Yellow Goat (Ji Wei)
Same animal